Articles written in December, 2012

Just like in real life, there are things we can do on social media to alienate people. If you’re a chronic over-sharer, are offensive, or fail to make personal connections with your followers, you may get unfriended, says a new report from SocialVibe.

Among SocialVibe’s findings:

33% of users unfollowed brands that posted too many updates

22% of users did so because their values and/or content differed from the users’ original perception

19% did so because they didn’t find value in remaining connected

9% did so after signing up through an ad then changing their minds

How many updates are too many? That’s a little hard to pin down. SocialVibe reports that 17% of users checked for brand updates every day, while 23% checked at least once a week.

Ideally, you should be posting somewhere between these two extremes, say 3-5 times a week.

More important than how often you post updates, though, is what you’re saying.

People follow brands for updates, sure, but between true “updates” it’s important to stay connected with content that is informative, helpful and engaging. Content that reinforces the ideas behind your brand, and reminds users why they follow you in the first place, is ideal.

Just make sure that you’re content isn’t too aggressive or sales-focused. If you had a friend who clogged your timeline with incessant self-promotional messages, you would unfriend them too.

Tumblr’s rise has been colossal. In four years, it’s grown from just over a million monthly visitors to more than 53 million. And that’s just in the U.S. Globally, Tumblr receives 148 million monthly visitors in the key 18-35 demographic. To reach these individuals, top brands have taken to Tumblr in droves. The question is – should you?

Tumblr Basics

Tumblr combines the versatility of a blog with the hyper-sharing of a social network. Brands currently using Tumblr effectively include JCrew, Universal Music and Standard Hotels.

When using Tumblr, it’s important to post often, interact with users, follow influencers, and reblog others’ content where appropriate. Luckily, Tumblr allows users to post quickly and easily via a mobile app, and a social sharing app called the Tumblr Bookmarklet, so, while it doesn’t take a lot of time to create a Tumblr post, it does require dedication in order to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Tumblr’s Advantages

Aside from the ability to reach a key demographic, Tumblr offers several advantages for businesses struggling to get found in a crowded marketplace.

To begin, Tumblr blogs tend to rank well in organic search engine results. This is a boon for anyone focused on landing on page one. And, thanks to the availability of Google Analytics tracking code for Tumblr, your efforts within Tumblr are easy to track.

Plus, Tumblr’s tagging conventions make it easy for users to find your Tumblr blog in the first place.

Using Tumblr for Business

Like any other social platform, how you behave on Tumblr will determine your success. As with Pinterest, businesses should think of Tumblr as a tool for characterizing their brands – not as another platform from which to sell.

This is why the best brand pages combine a mix of product images / links back to their site, bite-sized informative content, aspirational musings and entertainment.

Is Tumblr Right for You?

Whether or not Tumblr is right for your business largely depends on your brand’s target demographics, and how much time you have to devote to the channel.

If you’re trying to reach the coveted millennial demographic, it’s in your best interest to give Tumblr the time of day. If you’re not, you may still want to consider jumping on board – if you have the time and energy to devote to it.